Contents

Genre

Sum it up in a Sentence:

A young girl tries to save her family from the owner of an other-worldly bathhouse.

Main Description

Ten-year-old Chihiro and her family are moving to a new city when they stop to explore an abandoned amusement park. The place isn't as empty as they first believed however. Chihiro meets a mysterious boy that warns her to leave the place before nightfall. With the sun setting, Chihiro runs to find her parents only to discover that they've turned into pigs. She turns to flee but finds that water has surrounded the park and a boat has brought many strange creatures to the newly made island. The creatures head towards a bathhouse and Chihiro eventually finds herself there as well.

The bathhouse is owned by Yubaba, an elderly witch that controls her servants by stealing their names and memories. Chihiro's name is stolen as well and she begins to work at bathhouse. With the help of some other servants, Chihiro attempts to recover her name so that she may free herself and her parents.

Personal Opinions

Night Gaunt

It's a beautiful movie and every scene is magical. Chihiro is an endearing and very realistic main character. It might be too scary for very small children though.

OldTimeyProspector

The DVD opens with one of the guys from Pixar talking about how Spirited Away is his favorite animated film. That's high praise, and this movie earns it in every moment. I think my favorite thing about this movie is the incredible world that Miyazaki conjures which is both strange and unreal, yet at the same time, always makes sense. It's never just strange/cool-looking stuff for its own sake. The way all these bizarre locations and characters and happenings all fit into one logical piece is amazing. This movie is just awesome, start to finish.

AnonSubHuman

Spirited Away is basically a call back to old Japanese fables. Some one disappears, and if they return there is just something different about them, whatever they experienced changed their whole outlook and personality. After watching this I started to notice the theme a lot more, and it really goes to show how Miyazaki could retell a really old story without making it seem worn out.